While Jerry Bruckheimer’s career is littered with plenty of examples of blockbuster Hollywood spectacle at its finest, the producer also likes to bring true stories to life, too.
“12 Strong” follows in the vein of “Remember The Titans” and “Black Hawk Down,” bringing the antics of the first U.S. Special Forces that were sent into Afghanistan in the weeks after 9/11 to the big-screen. Their story was kept under wraps from the public until Doug Stanton’s non-fiction book “Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story Of A Band Of US Soldiers Who Rode To Victory In Afghanistan” was released back in 2010.
During my conversation with Jerry Bruckheimer earlier this month the producer admitted, after it was put in front of him, it didn’t take long for the project to pique his interest.
“I think it is a unique story about men that deserve to be remembered, who were accomplishing something that had been classified for a long time.”
“I like making movies that not only entertain but are educational. I like making pieces about people who should be remembered. People who changed things for the better. They would have been forgotten if it weren’t for Doug Stanton, who wrote the book, and us for making the movie.”
Bruckheimer also saw “12 Strong” as an opportunity to make a “very cinematic,” and timely film about what is currently going on and “people working together to make the world a better place.”
“It’s about the professionalism of the military force, and these guys are highly intelligent, but also deadly. It is also a realistic portrayal of what is going in the world and what happened in that time period over in Afghanistan. How a small military force goes into a foreign country and bonds with the Muslim and Afghan people to rid a common invader.”
While some artistic license is required for films of this ilk, Jerry Bruckheimer insisted that the reaction from those who were there has only been positive, especially when it comes to “the essence of the story.”
“Based on the reactions of the people we have shown it to, including the real special forces that were over there, they really believe that we got the essence of the story.”
“The most frightening thing for a producer is when you make a movie about real people. You’re scared that people might come up to you and go, ‘That never happened. That’s misrepresentation.’ Fortunately on this movie it is quite the opposite.”
You’ll be able to discover the story of “12 Strong,” which has an all-star cast of Chris Hemsworth, Navid Negahban, Michael Shannon, Michael Pena, Trevante Rhodes, Rob Riggle, William Fichtner, and Elsa Pataky, when it is released on January 19.
